Pope Leo XIV visited Turkey’s iconic Blue Mosque in Istanbul on Saturday, but did not stop to pray, as his predecessors had done when visiting the mosque.
The first American Pope stopped in Türkiye for the first leg of his foreign trip as Pope. This trip is also to take him to Lebanon.
Why was Pope Leo’s visit to the Blue Mosque unusual?
Breaking with tradition established by previous popes, Leo was not seen praying when he visited Turkey’s famous mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.
The pope took off his shoes, a condition of entering the mosque according to Islamic rules, and toured the 17th-century mosque accompanied by its imam.
The imam, Asgin Tunca, said he had invited Leo to pray, as the mosque was “the house of Allah”, but the Pope declined, saying he would prefer to just go to the mosque.
“He wanted to see the mosque, wanted to feel [the] I feel the atmosphere of the mosque. And was very happy,” Imam Tunka said.
The Pope’s decision seems to have surprised even the Vatican, as he said Leo would observe “a brief moment of silent prayer” at the mosque.
The Vatican issued a press statement after the visit saying the prayer had taken place, later saying the release had been sent in error, Reuters news agency reported.
Instead, Statement on Pope’s visit The Blue Mosque read: “The Pope visited the mosque peacefully, in a spirit of contemplation and listening, with deep respect for the place and the faith of the people who gather in prayer.”
Both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis observed a moment of silent prayer facing east when visiting the Blue Mosque in 2006 and 2014 respectively.
What else was on Pope Leo’s agenda?
In addition to the Blue Mosque, Pope Leo also visited the Patriarchal Church of St. George, where he prayed with the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Patriarch Bartholomew.
He then led a Catholic Mass at Istanbul’s Volkswagen Arena.
The Pope is due to travel to Lebanon on Sunday, but not without hesitation, as his Airbus charter was among others affected by the Airbus software update worldwide. The last-minute update disrupted hundreds of flights in Europe and Asia.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko